Was week I wrote a post about the rise of the Twitch cross stitcher, however its clear that vblogging cross stitch is a new thing, and the only way to get the inside scoop is from the streamers themselves. So, without further adue, we hear from the horses mouth!

In my initial post I spoke about the purpose of streaming. Its not clear from the outset what would make someone stream cross stitching, especially on a vblogging platform. So, what made you start streaming?

EmzOLV I originally started live streaming because I used to write for a games blog which I created. I found that alongside the articles I was doing for that, I could do playthroughs of indie and retro games and it would all fit together nicely. Unfortunately I haven’t had time for the blog and it’s very competitive and easy to get lost in the Twitch world with video games. I was intrigued by cross stitching streams because I knew of one person who did it (Sirithre) and I had been working in my personal time on a giant version of Yoshi Island SNES start screen. It all seemed to come together with me jumping in and giving it a go, getting really comfortable within Twitch Creative and then just continuing to do it.

Why do you stream instead of make videos?

KWarning It’s all about the live chat for me. There is nothing that compares to the live interaction. I get feedback on patterns and I am able to help viewers with their project by having the ability to reply to them immediately. I have also opened up a discord room to be able to have the same interaction with my viewers while my channel is not live.

Cross stitch twitch is a bit of a new phenomenon, why do you think it’s become so popular when other social media has failed to unite the stitching community?

ArmoredHearts Cross Stitch on Twitch is immediate, it’s a community that is building out of the love of the art. Whether in the making or the appreciating and collecting. Posting photos of works in progress or finished items is fun. Watching someone create and chatting about experiences, methods and tools of the craft is what builds a kind of camaraderie among Creative streamers. We relate and learn from others and that makes our experiences have more value and grow.

MotoRuxin Cross stitch is one of those things that lots of people do, but it’s hard to actually meet this people as we are so spread out and diverse. With the Creative section on Twitch, they have essentially created for us an online sewing circle with resources for new or longtime stitcher as well as those with no cross stitch experience. Some people just appreciate the art, and it absolutely fills me with pride when I have viewers praise my work and hope so badly to win one of my giveaways.

If I was a betting man I would think that we’ll see a lot more streamers on Twitch soon, cross stitching away.

With Christmas on the horizon its not too surprising that people have been asking me for my Pokemon baubles. These are actually designed by ristvak over at SpriteStitch but I was the first to stitch them, so I still get asked about them all the time!

Title: Pikachu Notebook Date Completed: September 2016 Design: Lord Libidan Count: 14 Video Game: Pokemon Despite the years of cross stitch I’ve never used waste canvas. This idea was originally planned to use it, but quite quickly I realised I couldn’t get the journal wet. After a lot of foundering I came across Severija, and worked out the way she cross stitched onto solid objects. I’ll make a guide soon, however for now, this is the completed Pikachu notebook, which will be up on my Etsy store, so catch it while you can!

A few weeks ago I posted a blog entitled “is cross stitch dead?”, and summarized that it had instead changed. One way it’s changed is the vblogging phenomenon known as Twitch.

Twitch is a video website that streams live videos, and was set up primarily for video games. Video games have long been seen on YouTube, and the competitive gaming of Asia is coming over to the USA and Europe, however its quickly become something more, with videos popping up on all types of content. However cross stitch isn’t a competitive sport, and there are a frankly astoundingly small amount of videos on YouTube, so why has this change happened, and why is it getting a backing?

Twitch is a unique site. At first glance you could mistake it for some type of voyeuristic site where pretty women talk to the camera, however in reality its a 50/50 split in gender, and most don’t even show their faces. Instead you just see the screen on the person you’re watching, complete with their audio feed. That’s it. So when cross stitch started to get streamed you have to ask, why bother? There’s no screen sharing, as a streamer you can’t see them, you can’t hear them, they can’t pick the music, they can’t change anything. It’s just a window into the world of one person.

KWarning on Twitch cross stitching Eevees

In reality, Twitch has pretty much everything on it. Most notably they accepted streams of people eating (I don’t get it either). However most of these sub-genres have a key element. Almost all of them are solo activities. The games streamed are all single player, the eating never happens in groups. You aren’t so much getting a snapshot into the life of someone, but they are having a one on one conversation with you, personally, whilst also having them with 200 other people. And yes, its really that popular. And that’s the draw.

Cross stitch is very insular, its the type of thing you can watch the TV at the same time, listen to music, chat with friends on instant messenger. So why not add someone else into the picture, doing the same thing you are. You can ask questions about their projects, yours, or go off topic totally. Its a friend you have the other side of the world.

I’ve watched a few streams, I often find my way onto streams of prop making, and I have indeed spent time with cross stitchers, however not once have I felt it was a waste of time. I was able to be part of a group, enjoying my hobby, whilst in the comfort of my own home, stitching away on my project. So I’m all for cross stitchers hanging out together, even if its online.

But there is one thing that makes all this slightly weirder; it wasn’t Twitch’s decision. Sure, they’ve gone with it, even making a group just for stitchers, however one day someone decided to stream themselves stitching, and it went from there. This happened months ago, but despite that the popularity of these videos exceeds most youtube videos on any topic, let alone cross stitch. Evidently there is a need here that cross stitchers themselves have identified.

Oh the Pokemon goodness! This free epic pokemon cross stitch pattern has been created using generation 2 sprites, but it only contains the original 151 Pokemon. It was actually made by the Pokemon company too.

Pokemon!

My favorite thing to cross stitch is Pokemon, and for good reason. Not only is it one of the best loved franchises out there, but there’s so much to choose to stitch, and so many in-jokes! And all the sprites are perfect size to stitch (unless you do all of them at once)…

To Be The Very Best Pokemon Tattoo

The best like no one ever was! One day I will get this tattooed on me. You know… somewhere I can hide it so no one over the age of 30 can see it… 😛

Epic Pokemon

Well that was obvious wasn’t it? One of the best Pokemon stitches of all time, has to be the largest one known. Whilst the above picture is great at showing its size, you don’t really get a grasp of it until you see this awesome video below:

Pika Pile

How cute is this!?! All credit to HardcodeEskimoKisses who created the pattern, although the above is stitched by StitchPlease. I especially love balloon Pika’s expression.

Pokemon Home Sweet Home

I just made this pattern available to download for free, however its been recreated by many others in slightly different styles. All Pokemon games start in your home sweet home, and this pattern only goes to glorify that!

Pokemon Badges

There’s only one way to be a pokemon master and that’s to collect all the badges. The above set are scaled correctly to the first season, using red/blue sprites.

Pokemon Circle

Another Pokemon stitch worth the epic tag, this circle uses recolored sprites, arranged in a circle, forming all 151 original pokemon, made from an official Pokemon image. You can download this epic Pokemon cross stitch pattern for free!

Ketchup Pikachu

I LOVE THIS IMAGE! One of the best scenes from the original pokemon series when they have no food, but Pikachu is hungry. Its also a great weekend project, so you might want to give it a try.

Hardest Decision

There are many pokemon quotes; such as “are you a boy or girl?”, but this one is basically a meme in a cross stitch.

Pokemon Baubles

These were made as a request over on the SpriteStitch forums, and are pride of place on my xmas tree every year!

3D Handheld Pokedex

I know… another one of mine, but in fairness, everywhere I go on shows, everyone always asks if I’ve got it with me…

Video game cross stitch is my thing (along with geeky cross stitch), however there are a lot of examples of fantastic art out there, so here are my top 10:

1 – Mario Power Ups

One of the first ever ‘epic’ video game cross stitch patterns made by psi169 but stitched by many of the years. Its a massive 1.5m by 1m and full of awesome mario goodness.

2 – Legend of Zelda Map

The epic stitches don’t end there, and as time has gone on Zelda caught up fast with Mario on the trend front. This amazing piece was the first full Legend of Zelda cross stitch map to be completed.

3 – Mario Level

Just look how long this is! Unrestrained from common frame sizes a whole level is stitched in this mario piece. Click to see just how detailed it is. And nice use of a sky blue aida…

4 – Home Sweet Home

There are literally hundreds of home sweet home patterns, including the free pokemon home sweet home pattern we gave away, however they have become so synonymous with the cross stitch community, that its inclusion within the video game sub-culture was inevitable.

5 – Pokemon Battle Screenshot

Simple in its outset of a pokemon battle screen, however infinitely more complicated once you realise the small factors such as the high level pikachu is meant to represent Ash’s from the anime. Not only has it been well received by the whole stitching community, but its even sparked spin offs like the Game of Thrones one below.

7 – Chrono Trigger

This is simply stunning. The tone of the colors shows real skill, but its completely engrossing, using one of the most iconic images from the chrono trigger game.

8 – Day Of The Tentacle

The greatest thing about this competition is the fantastic stance of the tenticle. I know its direct from the game, but they’ve taken a vector image and transfered it to a small pixel image without loosing any of the key details.

9 – Lara Croft

A regular, quite boring cross stitch completely changed by adding in Lara Croft (a very cross stitch unfriendly character) into the mix. It’s not Becky Schaefer’s only piece, but this was his first in this style, and it really works…

10 – Hakuen Street Fighter

HADUKEN! Synonomus within the video game community, and has been attempted many times with its well known code, however the thing that really brings this piece to life is the awesome positioning of the characters and lack of text, but its still obvious what it is. Very well done.